(RNS) — A video skit by the comedian known as Druski went viral last week for its parody of prosperity gospel preachers and megachurch culture, prompting criticism of both megachurches and comedians who mock megachurches.
In his video captioned “Mega Church Pastors LOVE Money,” the 31-year-old comedian, whose real name is Drew Desbordes, impersonates a rowdy megachurch preacher ostentatiously displaying his wealth.
Though some praised the comical aspect of the video, it also prompted fierce discussions, particularly among Black Christians, over just how much money a pastor should make and appropriate attire for the pulpit. Some also denounced the video as bordering on mockery of the Christian faith.
The video, published on Jan. 13, came on the heels of a controversy sparked by Pastor Jamal Bryant’s wife, Karri Tuner, who drew criticism for wearing a black sheer dress with a nude underlay to a United Negro College Fund fundraiser in late December in Atlanta. The outfit caused a stir, with some criticizing Turner as not being modest enough.
Druski’s minute-long video, filmed in a real church, boasts 46.6 million views and 8.5 million likes on TikTok, as well as 3.7 million likes on Instagram. It opens with the comedian zip-lining onto a church stage while Kirk Franklin’s hit “Revolution” blasts.
The scene replicates a November 2018 clip of Brown Missionary Baptist Church’s pastor, Bartholomew Orr, in Southaven, Mississippi, who was dubbed the “flying preacher” for descending onto his church stage attached by ropes.
@druski Mega Church Pastors LOVE Money 😂😂😂😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 #druski #megachurch #church #skit #funny ♬ original sound – DRUSKI
Druski’s video, set in the fictitious “Collect and Praise Ministries” church, features a sermon in which the comedian feigns to address a congregant’s concerns about his designer clothes.
“I have somebody in the congregation asking why I’m wearing Christian Dior and Christian Louboutin. Because I’m a Christian and I walk in the blood of Jesus. Give me some praise,” he shouts, while clad in a Christian Dior blazer and before theatrically flashing the signature glossy red soles of his Louboutin shoes.
The comedian also refers to a clip of singer and pastor Marvin Sapp at a July 2024 meeting of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World Inc. in Baltimore, where Sapp urged ushers to keep the sanctuary’s doors closed until the assembly reached its fundraising target of $40,000.
The clip went viral after resurfacing online early last year, with commenters denouncing the practice. Sapp later addressed the controversy in a Facebook statement, noting that his instructions weren’t “manipulative” but a call to “stewardship” and said his actions had been misinterpreted “as holding people hostage as well as offensive.”
RELATED: ‘Ushers, close the doors’: Pastor Marvin Sapp’s offering call ignites Black church giving debate
Pastor Marvin Sapp preaches during a Pentecostal Assemblies of the World Inc. convention in Baltimore in July 2024. (Video screen grab)
In the skit version, Druski appeals to the crowd, asking for funds to plant a church in Zimbabwe. “We wanted to raise $4 million for that, Amen. That needs to appear today. We’re not letting anyone leave until we reach our goal.”
Later in his parody sermon, Druski shouts, “I’m driving this Bentley Bentayga because I believe in Christ,” a nod to a 2018 controversy sparked by a Pittsburgh pastor who owned a $230,000 Bentley Bentayga car.
After a Facebook user posted a picture of the luxury car parked in the reserved spot for Mount Ararat Baptist Church’s pastor, William H. Curtis, critics erupted over the validity of a faith leader owning such an expensive car. The post argues a pastor owning such a car is “sucking ur community dry with hope and tithes.”
In the days after Druski released his video, many pastors and Christian leaders commented on the controversial skit on social media and in their Sunday sermons.
On Sunday (Jan. 18), Mike Todd, the savvy internet pastor of Transformation Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, addressed Druski’s video from the pulpit. Over the week, AI-generated images of Todd wearing a similar Christian Dior blazer led some to believe the comedian was imitating him.
Todd’s engaging preaching style, which often draws from pop culture elements, has come under scrutiny in recent years, with some denouncing it as theatrics.
Pastor Mike Todd talks about Druski’s viral skit during his sermon, Jan. 18, 2025, at Transformation Church in Tulsa, Okla. (Video screen grabs)
The skit, which Todd said was “hilarious,” is nothing but an attempt to distract Christians, he said.
“There were people who did not do what God said to do this week because they needed to be in the know of what was happening in the culture,” the 39-year-old told his congregation on Sunday. “You thought it was some attack on the church? It was an attack on your focus.”
Quickly after the video was published, Christian rapper and singer Lecrae Devaughn Moore, known as Lecrae, defended the skit and called on Christians to reflect on its critique of the church.
Megachurches were an “easy target” for skits, said the singer in a video posted on Instagram, adding that the comedian shone light on real-life situations in congregations where “there’s wolves in the pulpits, there’s theatrics for attention and money and influence, and leaders are manipulating God’s name for gains.”
The video, he said, was an opportunity to warn other Christians about the dangers of such churches and deter community members from putting their trust in such congregations.
